International News Archive - February 19, 2006

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is considering extending loans to
the United States to cover the cost of relocating U.S. troops
out of the country, in an effort to break the deadlock in talks
with Washington, a newspaper said on Sunday. The two countries are seeking to finalize plans to
reorganise U.S.

By Manny Mogato MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippine army tightened security
on Sunday after finding a bomb in its top military academy, one
of the alleged targets in a plot to overthrow and possibly kill
the president, military sources said.

GAZA (Reuters) - An Israeli air strike killed two
Palestinians near the Gaza Strip boundary on Sunday, witnesses
and medics said. Military sources said an aircraft fired at Palestinians
suspected of planting bombs south of Kissufim border crossing.

By Nopporn Wong-Anan BANGKOK (Reuters) - During his first five years as Thai
prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra and his pro-business,
modernising government enjoyed a smooth ride through everything
from bird flu to the tsunami to resurgent Muslim separatism.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has said
he rejects the Iraqi constitution backed by his partners in the
biggest parliamentary bloc, threatening a new crisis over one
of the country's most explosive issues.

By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's King Gyanendra made his first
formal approach to the country's estranged political parties on
Sunday, urging them to join talks and try to put democracy back
on track.

By Matthew Robinson PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro (Reuters) - Albin Kurti is
an unlikely threat to national security. The boyish face,
black-rimmed glasses and knee-length overcoat ring more of a
mature Harry Potter than the terrorist Serbia labeled him in
the late 1990s.